January 2016 was the best year yet for traditional Karen dance at the Karen New Year celebration in Western Australia. After wide coverage on social media and in community newspapers last year, and strong feedback from the Karen community in Western Australia, the AKO WA dance team aims to go further at the coming New Year.
The adult group will grow from 8 to 16 performers, and will dance to traditional drums, cymbals and the dancers' own singing instead of recorded music. Saw Htoo Paung is instructing the adult men this year, and his experience is already showing. AKO WA also has an under-18 team of 10, which will also dance to traditional drums and singing, an under-12 team of 10 boys and 10 girls, and an under-10 team of 5 children.
Promoting Karen culture will remain a focus for the Karen community in Western Australia as AKO continues to grow.
